Hole cover

ABSTRACT

A hole cover mountable in a hole in a panel without exceeding the specified value for the insertion load, and which is capable of remaining secure after mounting. The relative movement between locking claws and a panel from the start of the hole cover insertion until mounting is complete is indicated by the movement strokes upward from a reference line R on the panel. The magnitude of the insertion load with respect to each stroke is determined by the shapes of the respective inclined surfaces. The peak load-generating stroke position (dash-dot-dot line) at the time of panel insertion is controlled by giving the inclined surfaces on the locking claws of the hole cover different shapes, thereby keeping the insertion load peak value for the hole cover product as a whole within the specified value for the insertion load.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d), to JP Patent Application No. 2012-116156 filed May 22, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hole cover for closing a hole in a panel. The invention relates more specifically to a hole cover which includes a flange and a main body that extends downward from the flange and has an engaging and locking portion, and which is adapted to close a hole in a panel by insertion of the main body into the hole in the panel and fastening of the main body to the panel with the flange and the engaging and locking portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In an automotive body panel such as an accelerator stopper bracket, a hole is formed in the panel to allow work to be performed, and a hole cover is used to close the hole after the work has been done. To keep the hole cover from rattling or loosening unnecessarily by vibrations during vehicular travel, it is desirable for the hole cover to be securely attached to the hole in the body panel. In those cases in particular where the hole cover is fastened as the accelerator stopper to the accelerator stopper bracket, because rattling and loosening after fastening lead to a decrease in the sensation of accelerator petal operation, it is necessary to adopt a structure which minimizes rattling and loosening. However, the insertion load is in fact specified in accordance with the assembly requirements, and so there is a limit to the degree to which rattling and loosening can be suppressed.

Patent Documents

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. S62-32877 (“Patent Document 1”)

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-175081 (“Patent Document 2”)

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-293661 (“Patent Document 3”)

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-17747 (“Patent Document 4”)

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. H6-47721 (“Patent Document 5”)

In the prior art, Patent Document 1 discloses, as a plug for sealing a hole that has been opened in a panel, a hole-sealing plug which is fixed to the panel by a locking portion that is diametrically opposed to a peripheral flange.

Patent Document 2 discloses, as a fastener for attaching one panel to another panel, a fastener which is capable of holding down the insertion force by changing the distance from the end of the support of the expanding portions on a plurality of elastic engaging members.

Patent Document 3 discloses, as a plug for closing a hole that has been formed in a panel, a plug having formed thereon a first locking member having a large protrusion that is adapted to engage with the hole and a second locking member having a small protrusion.

Patent Document 4 discloses, as a clamp used when running a wiring harness in the panel members of an automobile, a two-spring clamp having a pair of locking springs provided at symmetrical positions on both sides of a support, which springs are formed into asymmetric shapes which undergo differing amounts of deflection.

Patent Document 5 discloses, as a grommet for closing a notched hole in a vehicle frame, a grommet in which the heights of protrusions on an engaging claw differ in such a way as to enable engagement with notched holes in vehicle frames of differing plate thicknesses (depths).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the prior art described in Patent Documents 1 to 5 above, it is difficult to sufficiently hold down rattling while maintaining the insertion load at or below the specified value. For example, in the hole-sealing plug of Patent Document 1, because there are a plurality of locking portions, the insertion load at the time of insertion into the hole in the panel may be too large. Hence, there is room for improvement in keeping the insertion load low. Although a plurality of locking portions may be provided in this way to minimize rattling, such an approach may cause the insertion load to exceed the specified value. Nor is this problem adequately resolved by the other Patent Documents 2 to 5.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a hole cover which can be mounted in a hole in a panel without exceeding the specified value for the insertion load, and which remains secure after mounting.

Accordingly, the invention provides a hole cover having a flange and a main body that extends downward from the flange and has an engaging and locking portion, which hole cover is adapted to close a hole in a panel by insertion of the main body into the hole in the panel and fastening of the main body to the panel with the flange and the engaging and locking portion. The engaging and locking portion is made up of a plurality of locking claws¹ which are provided on an outside surface of the main body and are configured so as to, during insertion of the main body, come into contact with an edge of the hole in the panel and deflect inward. The plurality of locking claws are composed of a plurality of different types of locking claws, which plurality of types of locking claws have insertion load peak value at the time of insertion that differ temporally. 1 ¹ Translator's Note: Literal translation of the Japanese term keishi-tsume. Another possible rendering is “locking finger.”

According to one aspect of the invention, the locking claws have inclined surfaces that contact the edge of the hole in the panel during insertion and the different types of locking claws have inclined surfaces of different shapes, by which means the insertion load peak values at the time of insertion differ temporally.

According to another aspect of the invention, the plurality of locking claws are made up of two locking claws of each of two types.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the plurality of locking claws are made up of two locking claws of each of three types.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the plurality of locking claws are arranged in such a way that locking claws of the same type are each disposed at opposing positions on a diagonal across a center of the main body.

According to a still further aspect of the invention, the main body has a longitudinal wall suspended downward from a center portion of the flange, the locking claws protrude upward and outward from a bottom end of the longitudinal wall, and the inclined surfaces are included on peripheral surfaces of the locking claws.

According to a still further aspect of the invention, the outermost protruding portions of the inclined surfaces on the locking claws of different types have different heights from the bottom end of the longitudinal wall.

In the hole cover of the invention, because the insertion load peak values at the time of insertion of the different types of locking claws differ temporally, the hole cover can be mounted in the hole in a panel without exceeding the specified value for the insertion load, and can remain secure after mounting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example in which a hole cover according to a first embodiment of the invention is used as an accelerator stopper cover.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A in FIG. 2

FIG. 3 is a top view of the hole cover in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view from the right side in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view from the front in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a view from the bottom in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hole cover in FIG. 1, as seen from the bottom direction.

FIG. 8 is cross-sectional view taken along B-B in FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 presents graphs showing the relationships between the panel strokes for the locking claws when the hole cover of FIG. 1 is attached to the panel and the insertion loads, with (a) being a graph for locking claws 9 a, (b) being a graph for locking claws 9 b, and (c) being a graph for the hole cover overall, including locking claws 9 a and locking claws 9 b.

FIG. 10 is a schematic top view similar to FIG. 3, which shows the arrangement of locking claws on a hole cover according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a graph similar to FIG. 9( c) for the hole cover in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are described below in conjunction with the diagrams. FIG. 1 shows a usage example in which a hole cover according to a first embodiment of the invention is used as an accelerator stopper cover in an automobile. In FIG. 1, the symbol 1 indicates a hole cover, i.e., an accelerator stopper cover; and 2 indicates an accelerator rod. The symbols 3 and 4 are automobile body panels, these being respectively an accelerator stopper bracket and a dashboard.

Referring to FIG. 2, the accelerator stopper cover 1 is configured so as to be mounted in a hole 5 in the accelerator stopper bracket 3. That is, in this usage example, the accelerator stopper bracket 3 is configured as a panel to which the hole cover of the invention attaches. In FIGS. 1 and 2, FR, UP and OUT represent the directions indicated by the respective arrows, and refer respectively to the frontward, upward and outward directions of the automobile.

FIGS. 3 to 9 show a hole cover according to the first embodiment of the invention. As shown in these diagrams, the hole cover 1 is made up of a flange 6 and a main body 7. When the hole cover 1 is attached to the panel, the main body 7 is the portion which is inserted into the hole 5 in the panel. Hence, the main body 7 has an outside diameter which is formed so as to be smaller than the outside diameter of the flange 6. The hole cover shown in the diagrams has an elliptical shape but is not limited to this shape and may instead have a circular or other shape.

The main body 7 has a longitudinal wall 8 which is suspended downward from a center portion of the flange 6, and has four locking claws which extend upward and outward from a bottom end of the longitudinal wall 8. Each locking claw is flexibly deformable so as to deflect inward upon coming into contact with the edge of the hole 5 in the panel at the time that the main body 7 is inserted. The longitudinal wall 8 has cavities 10 formed therein for the sake of weight reduction. The four locking claws are made up of two types of locking claws; that is, two each of locking claws 9 a and locking claws 9 b. As shown in FIG. 3, locking claws of the same type are disposed at opposing positions on a diagonal across a center of the main body 7.

As is best shown in FIG. 8, the peripheral surfaces of locking claws 9 a and 9 b respectively have inclined surfaces 11 a and 11 b which come into contact with the edge of the hole 5 in the panel 3 at the time of insertion. The locking claw top ends 12 a and 12 b located upward from these inclined surfaces are portions which fit into the edge of the hole in the panel 3 when mounting of the hole cover 1 is complete. The inclined surfaces 11 a and 11 b are formed so as to protrude outwardly from the top ends 12 a and 12 b, thereby forming a shoulder between the top ends 12 a and 12 b.

When mounting of the hole cover is complete, the peripheral portion of the flange 6, i.e., the portion which protrudes outward from the hole 5 in the panel 3, is adapted so as to hold down the top surface of the panel 3. By clamping the panel 3 between the peripheral portion of this flange 6 and the shoulder of the locking claws, the hole cover 1 is securely fixed to the panel 3.

Next, the operation of the hole cover 1 according to the invention is described while referring to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relative movement between the two types of locking claws 9 a and 9 b on the hole cover 1 and the panel 3 as panel strokes from the start of insertion to the completion of mounting. As shown in FIG. 8, the inclined surfaces 11 a and 11 b of locking claws 9 a and 9 b have been formed into shapes so that the peak values P1 and P2 (see FIG. 9) of the insertion load during insertion differ temporally.

In FIG. 8, the reference line R shows the position of the panel 3 at the start of insertion. The dash-dot lines indicate the position of the panel 3 when it starts to come into contact with the locking claws 9 a and 9 b, that is, the panel position where an insertion load begins to be applied (the lower position in FIG. 8), and the position of the panel 3 when mounting of the hole cover 1 is complete (the upper position in FIG. 8). The dash-dot-dot lines indicate the position of the panel and the positions of the locking claws 9 a and 9 b when the insertion load reaches a peak value; at this time, the heights [sic] of the protruding portions of the inclined surfaces 11 a and 11 b, that is, the maximally protruding portions 13 a and 13 b of the inclined surfaces 11 a and 11 b, are in contact with the panel 3. With regard to the locking claws 9 a and 9 b, the panel strokes from the reference line R to the panel position where an insertion load begins to be applied, the panel position where the insertion load reaches a peak value, and the panel position when mounting of the cover 1 is complete are indicated by, respectively, a1, a2 and a3 and by b1, b2 and b3.

As shown in FIG. 8, relative movement between the locking claws 9 a and 9 b and the panel 3 from the start of insertion up until mounting is complete can be illustrated as a stroke that moves upward from the reference line R of the panel. Moreover, the magnitude of this insertion load is determined by the shapes of the respective inclined surfaces. The relationships between the stroke of the panel 3 and the insertion loads for the locking claws 9 a and 9 b are shown in FIGS. 9( a) and (b). Incidentally, in FIGS. 8 and 9, the numerical values of the panel strokes (mm), letting R=0 be the origin, are a1=3.6, a2=4.9, a3=11.5, b1=5, b2=8.4 and b3=11.5. The numerical values of the insertion loads (N) are x1=25 and x2=28. These numerical values represent but one example; by making it possible for the peak value positions of the insertion loads to differ temporally, other values may of course be selected.

As shown in FIGS. 9( a) and (b), the peak value P2 of the insertion load for the locking claws 9 b has been set so as to be temporally delayed relative to the peak value P1 of the insertion load for the locking claws 9 a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9( c), the peak value of the overall insertion load for the hole cover 1 does not exceed the specified value of 30 N for the insertion load.

Hence, by imparting a difference in the shapes of the inclined surfaces of the locking claws 9 a and the locking claws 9 b as provided for in this invention, the peak load-generating stroke position at the time of panel insertion is controlled, thereby holding the insertion load peak value for the hole cover product overall within the specified value for the insertion load (30 N). Accordingly, this invention makes it possible to fasten a hole cover to a panel under a low load while at the same time making the hole cover resistant to loosening after it has been fastened and thus keeping it securely attached to the panel.

Next, a hole cover 21 according to a second embodiment of the invention is described in conjunction with FIGS. 10 and 11. As shown in FIG. 10, a hole cover 21 according to a second embodiment of the invention has a circular flange 26 and a main body (not shown), and the number of locking claws provided on the main body is six. These six locking claws are made up of three types of locking claws; namely two locking claws 29 a, two locking claws 29 b, and two locking claws 29 c. As shown in FIG. 10, these locking claws are arranged so that the locking claws of the same type are each disposed at opposing positions on a diagonal across the center of the flange 26 (and the main body).

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the panel stroke and the insertion load for the respective locking claws 29 a, locking claws 29 b and locking claws 29 c of the hole cover 21, and corresponds to the graph in FIG. 9( c) for the hole cover 1 according to the first embodiment. The graph in FIG. 11 shows, in order from the left side, the changes in the insertion loads with respect to the panel strokes for locking claws 29 a, locking claws 29 b and locking claws 29 c. As shown in FIG. 11, because the peak load-generating positions in these panel strokes differ temporally, the overall insertion load for the hole cover 21 is less than the specified value (30 N). Therefore, the hole cover 21 according to this embodiment also can be fastened to a panel at a low load while at the same time being resistant to loosening after fastening and thus remaining securely attached to the panel.

KEYS TO TEXT IN FIGURES

-   1: Accelerator stopper cover (hole cover) -   2: Accelerator rod -   3: Accelerator stopper bracket -   4: Dashboard -   5: Hole -   6: Flange -   7: Main body -   8: Longitudinal wall -   9 a, 9 b: Locking claws -   10: Cavity -   11 a: Inclined surface of locking claw 9 a -   11 a: Inclined surface of locking claw 9 b -   12 a: Top end of locking claw 9 a -   12 b: Top end of locking claw 9 b -   13 a: Maximally protruding portion of inclined surface 11 a -   13 b: Maximally protruding portion of inclined surface 11 b -   21: Hole cover -   26: Flange -   29 a, 29 b, 29 c: Locking claws 

1. A hole cover comprising a flange and a main body that extends downward from the flange and has an engaging and locking portion, which hole cover is adapted to close a hole in a panel by insertion of the main body into the hole in the panel and fastening of the main body to the panel with the flange and the engaging and locking portion, wherein the engaging and locking portion comprises a plurality of locking claws which are provided on an outside surface of the main body and are configured so as to, during insertion of the main body, come into contact with an edge of the hole in the panel and deflect inward, the plurality of locking claws being composed of a plurality of different types of locking claws, which plurality of types of locking claws have insertion load peak values at the time of insertion that differ temporally.
 2. The hole cover according to claim 1, wherein the locking claws have inclined surfaces that contact the edge of the hole in the panel during insertion and the different types of locking claws have inclined surfaces of different shapes, by which means the insertion load peak values at the time of insertion differ temporally.
 3. The hole cover according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of locking claws are comprised up of two locking claws of each of two types.
 4. The hole cover according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of locking claws are comprised up of two locking claws of each of three types.
 5. The hole cover according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of locking claws are arranged in such a way that the locking claws of the same type are each disposed at opposing positions on a diagonal across a center of the main body.
 6. The hole cover according to claim 2, wherein the main body has a longitudinal wall suspended downward from a center portion of the flange, the locking claws protrude upward and outward from a bottom end of the longitudinal wall, and the inclined surfaces are included on peripheral surfaces of the locking claws.
 7. The hole cover according to claim 6, wherein the outermost protruding portions of the inclined surfaces on the locking claws of different types have different heights from the bottom end of the longitudinal wall. 